The Chilean fruit industry trade group ASOEX said the strike is directly affecting Chilean exporters’ ability to ship their fruit and called on the Chilean government to take action.

In the first half of January, the government was meeting with Port of San Antonio officials to try to resolve the issue, said Fernando Balart, ASOEX’s marketing manager for U.S. and Latin America.

Through the early part of January, the strike’s effects were minimal on Vero Beach, Fla.-based Seald Sweet International, but there’s no guarantee that will remain the case, said Chris DeSana, grape commodity manager.

Josh Leichter, general manager of Fresno, Calif.-based Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC, said grape growers he talked to the week of Jan. 6 hadn’t mentioned any negative effects from the strike.

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About the Author:

Andy Nelson, markets editor

Andy Nelson joined The Packer as a staff writer in 2001. He became the paper's Handling & Distributing editor in 2005 and markets editor in 2006. Before joining Farm Journal Media, Nelson was a staff writer for The Kansas City Star.